Contact us here
Tech & trend

What is Ingress Protection rating and what does it mean?

Become familiar with the international protection marking used to indicate an electrical enclosure’s ability to cope with ingress from solids and liquids in harsh environments.

Ingress Protection rating (or just IP rating), is an international standard (IEC 60529) used to rate the degree of protection or sealing effectiveness in electrical enclosures against intrusion of objects, water, dust or accidental contact. It corresponds to the European standard EN 60529.

The IP code always consists of the letters IP (Ingress Protection) followed by two digits and an optional letter. The two digits and the last letter indicate the classified protection below.

What is Ingress Protection rating and what does it mean?

First digit: Solids protection

The first digit following the IP indicates the level of protection of enclosed equipment against ingress of solid foreign objects, and against people accessing hazardous parts such as electric conductors.

Level

Object size protected against

Effective against

 

X

-

X means no data available to specify a protection rating

 

O

Not protected

No protection against contact and ingress of objects

 

1

>50 mm in diameter

Any large surface of the body
No protection against deliberate contact

 

2

>12.5 mm in diameter

Fingers or similar objects

 

3

>2.5 mm in diameter

Tools, thick wires, etc.

 

4

>1 mm in diameter

Most wires, screws, etc.

 

5

Dust-protected

Ingress of dust sufficient to cause damage inside the equipment operation
Complete protection against contact

 

6

Dust tight

No ingress of dust
Complete protection against contact

 

Second digit: Liquids protection

The second digit following IP in the code rating shows the level of equipment protection inside the enclosure against water ingress.

Level

Object size protected against

Effective against

 

X

-

X means there is no data available to specify a protection rating

 

O

Not protected

No protection against water ingress

 

1

Dripping water

Vertically falling water drops

 

2

Dripping water when tilted < 15º

Vertically falling water drops when enclosure is tilted < 15º

 

3

Spraying water

Water sprayed at an angle < 60º from the vertical position

 

4

Splashing water

Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction

 

5

Water jets

Water projected by a nozzle (6.3 mm) against the enclosure from any direction

 

6

Powerful water jets

Water projected in powerful jets (12.5 mm nozzle) against the enclosure from any direction

 

7

Immersion up to 1 m

Ingress of water when temporarily immersed (up to 1 m of submersion)

 

8

Immersion beyond 1 m

Ingress of water when continuously immersed (beyond 1 m of submersion)

 

9K*

Powerful high temperature water jets

Close-range, high pressure and high temperature spray downs
*Identified as IPX9 in standard IEC 60529. All tests with the letter ‘K’ are defined by standard ISO 20653

 

LINAK® actuators with IP66 and IP69K

Industrial actuators are typically used in environments where they are exposed to both liquids and solid objects. That is why all our actuators with aluminium housings are tested to meet ratings IP66 and IP69K, making them extremely versatile in various applications.

Actuators with an IP66 rating are totally protected from dust ingress and powerful water jets from any direction. This makes these actuators suitable for outdoor use with changing weather conditions.

In case the application requires wash-downs with high-pressure water jets and high temperatures, IP69K is the recommended protection class. This is a common demand in, for example, agricultural machinery, where the actuator is not necessarily shielded or protected. Here the actuator is exposed to dirt, fertilisers and frequent high-pressure washing, typically at the end of a day in the fields.

IP66

  • Protected from total dust ingress
  • Protected from high-pressure water jets from any direction

IP69K

  • Protected from total dust ingress
  • Protected from steam-jet cleaning
 

This is how we test and determine Ingress Protection at LINAK


LINAK Actuator Academy Logo

Want to know more about electric actuator technology and actuator components?

Visit the Actuator Academy™ for industrial actuators.

 

Files

LINAK test brochure

Each and every component in an actuator is subjected to a comprehensive battery of tests at the LINAK test centre. Learn more in this folder.

Got a question?

Our team is ready to assist you with technical information, starting a project and more.

Contact now